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STARS to sponsor panel about marriage act Wednesday
JOE DIPIETRO
staff writer
The recent passage of the De­fense
of Marriage Act and the
institution of gay marriage in gen­eral
will be the focus of a panel
discussion sponsored by the
STARS (St. Mary’s Triangle and
Rainbow Society) group. The
discussion is scheduled in Lower
Charles Hall at 8:00 p.m. on
Wednesday, October 9. Panel­ists
include three faculty mem­bers,
a student, and John Manuell,
a minister from the First Unitar­ian
Church of Baltimore.
Panel members will be Sue
Grogan from the Political Sci­ence
Department, Katherine Von
Kellenbach from Religious Stud­ies,
Roy Hopkins from Psychol­ogy,
John Manuel, and student
Adria Dorko. Each panelist will
be given ten minutes to present
their ideas from the perspective
of their discipline. Following the
presentations the audience will
be invited to participate in what
STARS group leader Celia
Rabinowitz hopes to be a “civil
but passionate discussion.”
Members of STARS were not
all opposed to the passage of the
defense of marriage act, but all
were against the “homophobic”
nature of the act. Many mem­bers
felt the name of the act,
Defense of Marriage, was preju­diced.
These members quoted
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.)
when he asked Congress, “How
is my being gay an attack on
your marriage?”
One member of the group was
surprised to see that there were
people opposed to gay marriage.
“I think it’s very important to see
stability in agay relationship. We
all know the dangers of AIDS
and AIDS is not a disease related
with monogamy.”
Though the main theme of
the panel is the issue of gay
marriage, many other topics are
expected to be discussed. These
issues include the discrimina­tion
against gays in the work­place
and the idea of gay parents
adopting and raising children.
Rabinowitz feels that “the gay
community was not focused or
prepared to deal with this attack
on gay marriage, because they
were being faced with more cru­cial
issues. The religious right
just got scared after they real­ized
that once Hawaii passed
their law all states would be
I n s id e
forced to recognize these STARS, in a campus of 1500
unions.” students, there are 150 gay stu-
The STARS group is composed dents,
of roughly 10 core mem­bers;
gay, bisexual, and
straight, faculty and stu­dents,
men and women.
They meet to provide
support for gay, lesbian,
and bisexual students, to
promote activism and
awareness to issues faced
by the gay community,
and most importantly,
said Rabinowitz, to
“have fun.”
Although many con­servatives
state that gay
Americans make up 1%
of the population,
STARS believes that ten
percent of all Americans
are gay. According to
♦ S po r t s S c o r e b o a r d
A complete recap o f the week in SMC sports,
complete with stats and scores. Page Eight
♦ L u c il l e C l if t o n ' s N ew R e l e a s e
Lucille Clifton’s new book The Terrible
Stories was recently nominated for a Na­tional
Book Award. Page Five
O P IN IO N .....................................................................2-3
FEATURES ................................................................... 4
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT.............................. 5
N EW S ...............................................................................7
SPO R T S ...........................................................................8
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
St. Mary’s campus weekly • 48th year, No. 4 October 8, 1996 • St. Mary’s City, MD 20686
Admissions Dean to run
for county school board
the exception of the
St. Mary’s Today,
which Antonio says
“is not worth the 75
cents it’s printed
on.”
Antonio has
shown concern over
the views of his op­ponents.
“There is a
lot of talk of values
and discipline, and
some negativity to­ward
the school sys­tem.
One woman
who is running
thinks that the sys­tem
is incredibly
weak, and that’s the
only reason she’s
running.”
Antonio is hoping
for a major boost
later this week: the
County Teacher’s
Association en­dorsement,
which
Antonio feels is an
excellentpossibility.
If he does not receive
it, he may back out
of the campaign and
support the choice of the associa­tion.
He notes, however, that al­most
every candidate has a chance
in the election, due to the number of
candidates. With such a large slate
of choices, a very low percentage of
the vote may win the election.
Antonio has a master’s degree in
education and has taught for several
years in the St. Mary’s public school
system, as both a middle school and
high school teacher. Antonio has
also been involved in several state­wide
educational programs.
Working with the state Depart­Dean
of Admissions and experienced educator Jim Antonio, short on
volunteers but long on ideas, is hoping for a key endorsement later
this week.
ment of Education, Antonio helped
to design the Maryland Citizenship
test, a graduation requirement for
all high school students. Working
on other projects, Antonio has vis­ited
and/or spoken at virtually every
school system in the state, which he
says gives him a good basis for
comparison. His wife is a teacher in
the system, and his son is an 8th
grader, which he says is one of his
biggest reasons for wanting to im­prove
the system.
Antonio is calm but eager about
the impending election. “I’m not
Photo by Theresa Sotto
nervous—I’m concerned, though,
that the people in the county really
pay attention. These issues are way
too important not to know; people
need to get out to the forums, and
then they need to cast their vote.”
He claims nopolitical ambitions,
and he has no previous political
involvement. “Forme,” he said, “I’m
really running out of a feeling of
public service. I want to give back
to a system that has given my family
and me so much. I have the time, I
have the experience, and believe
that this is important.”
BENJAMIN WYSKIDA
managing editor
Dean of Admissions Jim Antonio
is launching a run for the St. Mary’s
County Board of Education, stress­ing
themes of leadership, change,
and technology in his fourth district
bid. Antonio is running against
seven other candidates, but is quick
to stress the differences in the race.
“I don’t think the other candi­dates
are headed in the right direc­tion.
The school board needs vision
and forethought, and I think I have
the right background to provide
that.”
Antonio has spent over ten years
with the College, during which
time the quality of Admissions
has risen dramatically. As Dean of
Admissions, SAT scores of incom­ing
students have risen almost 300
points. The affable Antonio is an
active voice on campus, seen by
many through the Open House pro­gram,
while also seen on an infor­mal
basis by much of the student
body. Antonio would retain hisjob
at the College, as the board post is
not a full-time commitment. A n ­tonio
did not originally intend to
enter the race, and describes him­self
as a reluctant candidate. But
feeling he could do a better job than
any of the registered candidates,
Antonio filed his papers on the last
possible day, surprising his family
with the decision.
“My wife was out of town when I
filed, and I called her up, told her
what I did, and she just about fell
out of her chair.”
Antonio sees several issues as the
major focus of the election. St.
Mary’s County will be choosing a
new superintendent of schools, a
choice which Antonio sees as cru­cial
to the future of the system. “We
need someone with vision and a
plan,” he said, “somebody who can
really help to prepare students for
the 21st century.”
Another major issue facing the
school board is the influx of new
students into the county. With the
expansion of the Patuxent River
Naval Air Station, three to five thou­sand
new families will be moving
into the area, flooding the school
system with new students. Antonio
commented, “The school system
needs to be at the forefront of prepa­rations
for these changes.”
Antonio recognizes the county’s
need for improved technology. He
commented, “we need to radically
change the way people are educated,
but it’s expensive and daunting. We
need to make sure that we not only
"The school board
needs vision and
forethought
-Jim Antonio, Dean
of Admissions
have the technology, but that we
know how to use it well.”
The non-partisan election will
yield one winner out of eight candi­dates
from the fourth district, which
includes Lexington Park and parts
of California and Hollywood. An­tonio
has signed a pledge not to
exceed $1,000 in spending for the
campaign, and has not yet begun
active campaigning. He has, how­ever,
been a part of several candi­date
forums. He has also responded
to questions and inquiries from vari­ous
groups and publications, with

STARS to sponsor panel about marriage act Wednesday
JOE DIPIETRO
staff writer
The recent passage of the De­fense
of Marriage Act and the
institution of gay marriage in gen­eral
will be the focus of a panel
discussion sponsored by the
STARS (St. Mary’s Triangle and
Rainbow Society) group. The
discussion is scheduled in Lower
Charles Hall at 8:00 p.m. on
Wednesday, October 9. Panel­ists
include three faculty mem­bers,
a student, and John Manuell,
a minister from the First Unitar­ian
Church of Baltimore.
Panel members will be Sue
Grogan from the Political Sci­ence
Department, Katherine Von
Kellenbach from Religious Stud­ies,
Roy Hopkins from Psychol­ogy,
John Manuel, and student
Adria Dorko. Each panelist will
be given ten minutes to present
their ideas from the perspective
of their discipline. Following the
presentations the audience will
be invited to participate in what
STARS group leader Celia
Rabinowitz hopes to be a “civil
but passionate discussion.”
Members of STARS were not
all opposed to the passage of the
defense of marriage act, but all
were against the “homophobic”
nature of the act. Many mem­bers
felt the name of the act,
Defense of Marriage, was preju­diced.
These members quoted
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.)
when he asked Congress, “How
is my being gay an attack on
your marriage?”
One member of the group was
surprised to see that there were
people opposed to gay marriage.
“I think it’s very important to see
stability in agay relationship. We
all know the dangers of AIDS
and AIDS is not a disease related
with monogamy.”
Though the main theme of
the panel is the issue of gay
marriage, many other topics are
expected to be discussed. These
issues include the discrimina­tion
against gays in the work­place
and the idea of gay parents
adopting and raising children.
Rabinowitz feels that “the gay
community was not focused or
prepared to deal with this attack
on gay marriage, because they
were being faced with more cru­cial
issues. The religious right
just got scared after they real­ized
that once Hawaii passed
their law all states would be
I n s id e
forced to recognize these STARS, in a campus of 1500
unions.” students, there are 150 gay stu-
The STARS group is composed dents,
of roughly 10 core mem­bers;
gay, bisexual, and
straight, faculty and stu­dents,
men and women.
They meet to provide
support for gay, lesbian,
and bisexual students, to
promote activism and
awareness to issues faced
by the gay community,
and most importantly,
said Rabinowitz, to
“have fun.”
Although many con­servatives
state that gay
Americans make up 1%
of the population,
STARS believes that ten
percent of all Americans
are gay. According to
♦ S po r t s S c o r e b o a r d
A complete recap o f the week in SMC sports,
complete with stats and scores. Page Eight
♦ L u c il l e C l if t o n ' s N ew R e l e a s e
Lucille Clifton’s new book The Terrible
Stories was recently nominated for a Na­tional
Book Award. Page Five
O P IN IO N .....................................................................2-3
FEATURES ................................................................... 4
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT.............................. 5
N EW S ...............................................................................7
SPO R T S ...........................................................................8
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
St. Mary’s campus weekly • 48th year, No. 4 October 8, 1996 • St. Mary’s City, MD 20686
Admissions Dean to run
for county school board
the exception of the
St. Mary’s Today,
which Antonio says
“is not worth the 75
cents it’s printed
on.”
Antonio has
shown concern over
the views of his op­ponents.
“There is a
lot of talk of values
and discipline, and
some negativity to­ward
the school sys­tem.
One woman
who is running
thinks that the sys­tem
is incredibly
weak, and that’s the
only reason she’s
running.”
Antonio is hoping
for a major boost
later this week: the
County Teacher’s
Association en­dorsement,
which
Antonio feels is an
excellentpossibility.
If he does not receive
it, he may back out
of the campaign and
support the choice of the associa­tion.
He notes, however, that al­most
every candidate has a chance
in the election, due to the number of
candidates. With such a large slate
of choices, a very low percentage of
the vote may win the election.
Antonio has a master’s degree in
education and has taught for several
years in the St. Mary’s public school
system, as both a middle school and
high school teacher. Antonio has
also been involved in several state­wide
educational programs.
Working with the state Depart­Dean
of Admissions and experienced educator Jim Antonio, short on
volunteers but long on ideas, is hoping for a key endorsement later
this week.
ment of Education, Antonio helped
to design the Maryland Citizenship
test, a graduation requirement for
all high school students. Working
on other projects, Antonio has vis­ited
and/or spoken at virtually every
school system in the state, which he
says gives him a good basis for
comparison. His wife is a teacher in
the system, and his son is an 8th
grader, which he says is one of his
biggest reasons for wanting to im­prove
the system.
Antonio is calm but eager about
the impending election. “I’m not
Photo by Theresa Sotto
nervous—I’m concerned, though,
that the people in the county really
pay attention. These issues are way
too important not to know; people
need to get out to the forums, and
then they need to cast their vote.”
He claims nopolitical ambitions,
and he has no previous political
involvement. “Forme,” he said, “I’m
really running out of a feeling of
public service. I want to give back
to a system that has given my family
and me so much. I have the time, I
have the experience, and believe
that this is important.”
BENJAMIN WYSKIDA
managing editor
Dean of Admissions Jim Antonio
is launching a run for the St. Mary’s
County Board of Education, stress­ing
themes of leadership, change,
and technology in his fourth district
bid. Antonio is running against
seven other candidates, but is quick
to stress the differences in the race.
“I don’t think the other candi­dates
are headed in the right direc­tion.
The school board needs vision
and forethought, and I think I have
the right background to provide
that.”
Antonio has spent over ten years
with the College, during which
time the quality of Admissions
has risen dramatically. As Dean of
Admissions, SAT scores of incom­ing
students have risen almost 300
points. The affable Antonio is an
active voice on campus, seen by
many through the Open House pro­gram,
while also seen on an infor­mal
basis by much of the student
body. Antonio would retain hisjob
at the College, as the board post is
not a full-time commitment. A n ­tonio
did not originally intend to
enter the race, and describes him­self
as a reluctant candidate. But
feeling he could do a better job than
any of the registered candidates,
Antonio filed his papers on the last
possible day, surprising his family
with the decision.
“My wife was out of town when I
filed, and I called her up, told her
what I did, and she just about fell
out of her chair.”
Antonio sees several issues as the
major focus of the election. St.
Mary’s County will be choosing a
new superintendent of schools, a
choice which Antonio sees as cru­cial
to the future of the system. “We
need someone with vision and a
plan,” he said, “somebody who can
really help to prepare students for
the 21st century.”
Another major issue facing the
school board is the influx of new
students into the county. With the
expansion of the Patuxent River
Naval Air Station, three to five thou­sand
new families will be moving
into the area, flooding the school
system with new students. Antonio
commented, “The school system
needs to be at the forefront of prepa­rations
for these changes.”
Antonio recognizes the county’s
need for improved technology. He
commented, “we need to radically
change the way people are educated,
but it’s expensive and daunting. We
need to make sure that we not only
"The school board
needs vision and
forethought
-Jim Antonio, Dean
of Admissions
have the technology, but that we
know how to use it well.”
The non-partisan election will
yield one winner out of eight candi­dates
from the fourth district, which
includes Lexington Park and parts
of California and Hollywood. An­tonio
has signed a pledge not to
exceed $1,000 in spending for the
campaign, and has not yet begun
active campaigning. He has, how­ever,
been a part of several candi­date
forums. He has also responded
to questions and inquiries from vari­ous
groups and publications, with